End caps or closures for tubular members



June 24, 1958 'J, snvlpso ETAL 2,840,113

END CAPS 0R CLOSURES FOR TUBULAR MEMBERS Filed May 5, 1955 INVENTORSZJOHN S\MPsoN- LEsuE P RmN,

BY P 5. ATTO NEY.

United States Patent Q END CAPS OR CLOSURES FOR TUBULAR MEMBERS JohnSimpson, Old Basford, and Leslie Parkin, Bobbers Mill, England,assignors to United-Carr Fastener Corporation, Cambridge, Mass.

Application May 5, 1955, Serial No. 506,282

Claims priority, application Great Britain May 6, 1954 1 Claim. (Cl.138-89) This invention relates to end caps or closures for tubularmembers and it is an object of the invention to provide a cap or closurewhich may be readily inserted into the open end of a tube.

According to the present invention an end cap or closure for a tubularmember comprises an end member and a resilient member secured thereinand projecting therefrom, the external dimensions of the portions of theresilient member projecting from the end member being such that theresilient member may be inserted into the end of the tubular member andheld therein by the frictional grip exerted by the resiliency of theresilient member on the inner wall of the tubular member, the resilientmember being provided with a circumferential recess into which a portionof the end member is swaged or upset in order to secure the end andresilient members together.

One embodiment of the invention will now be described in greater detailwith reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:

Fig. 1 shows the end cap partly in cross section;

Fig. 2 shows a plan view of the end cap of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 shows an enlarged view of the means of securing the cap to thesleeve.

As shown in the drawings an end cap or closure 1 comprises a dome shapedmetal end member 2 provided with side wall 3 extending parallel with theaxis 4 of the end cap and a substantially cylindrical metal sleeve 5having a longitudinally extending slot 5a secured in the end member 2such that it projects outwardly therefrom.

The sleeve 5 is provided with a circumferential recess 6 extendingcompletely round the sleeve, the recess being poistioned with respect tothe length of the sleeve such that when the sleeve is positioned withinthe end member 2, the groove 6 lies adjacent the free end of the member.The end member 2 is provided, in the annular face 7 of its free end,with an annular groove 8 concentric with the face 7. The sleeve 5 issecured to the end member 2 by swaging or upsetting that portion 9 whichlies between the annular grOOVe 8 and the internal face 10 of the endmember 2 as shown in Fig. 3.

The end cap is positioned on a tubular member 11 by forcing the free endof the sleeve'into the open end of the tubular member until the annularface 7 of the cylindrical wall of the domed end portion abuts the end 12of the tubular member 11. It will be noted that the axial slot 5a in thesleeve will ensure sufiicient resilience to permit the insertion of thesleeve and provide an efficient frictional grip with the inner wall ofthe tubular member.

When assembled with the tubular member, the external face 13 of thecylindrical side wall 3 of the dome shaped end member will liesubstantially flush with the external face 14 of the adjacent end of thetube and form in effect a continuation thereof, thereby providing a neatclosure.

The resilience of the sleeve afforded by the longitudinal i 5 slot 5aalso ensures a suflicient frictional engagement with the dome shaped endportion enabling the parts to be held during assembly without thenecessity of welding or like operation.

It will be appreciated that although in the embodiment described theportion 9 is upset into the recess, any portion of the end memberadjacent the sleeve, when the cap is assembled, may be so upset.

Again the end portion has been described as being of dome shape but anydesired shape may be employed.

Although the cap has been described as being circular in cross sectionit may, if it is desired, have some other cross sectional shape.

Material other than metal may be used to form one or both of themembers.

The member 5 has been described as a sleeve to which resiliency is givenby the longitudinal slot 5a but it will be understood that other meansmay be used to give the sleeve resiliency. Further the member 5 need notbe in the form of a hollow sleeve but may be solid, the materialemployed itself having resiliency.

The end cap may be used to provide an end cap or closure for the end ofany tubular member, or tubular portion of a structure. It may be used toprovide the end cap of the tubular members of a chair or the like, forexample, the end of a tubular chair leg. In this case the dome endportion of the cap may be adapted to serve as a glider for supportingthe chair or the like in moving over the floor surface.

The dome shaped portion and the sleeve are preferably both formed ofmetal.

We claim:

An end cap or closure for a tubular member comprising a cap member and aresilient attaching member secured therein and projecting therefrom, thecap member having a cup-shaped body with a closed end and an upstandingperipheral wall extending axially therefrom providing an annular face,the peripheral wall including References Cited in the file of thispatent UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 17,866 Arthur Nov. 11, 1930 170,377Johnson Nov. 23, 1875 1,005,153 Case Oct. 10, 1911 2,122,904 AmbrosiusJuly 5, 1938 2,388,300 Wackman Nov. 6, 1945 2,644,978 Becker July 14,1953 2,710,027 Husgen et al. June 7, 1955

